


3

by inafieldofroses



Category: Euphoria (TV 2019)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-15
Updated: 2020-11-01
Packaged: 2021-02-28 18:28:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 7,469
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23161729
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/inafieldofroses/pseuds/inafieldofroses
Summary: a lexi and rue fake dating story.your welcome.
Relationships: Rue Bennett/Lexi Howard
Comments: 2
Kudos: 57





	1. shit...

“ Shit “ Rue said under her breath as she looked down and away from her mom.  
Her mother had just told her that some of her extended family was coming up to visit for a little, to get away from the bad weather on the east coast. This meant a family reunion party. Her mom had told everyone that she was dating Jules and was much happier since. The problem was that was 4 months ago... 

Rue hadn’t seen Jules since she left for the city. Sure, she had texted her multiple times in the first few weeks that followed. She never replied and it seemed like she could care less about her. The pain still hurt from the separation, but every day it got a little easier for Rue to cope. 

She didn’t feel this endless ache anymore and though she wasn’t happy with life, she could through each day. Now though she was screwed, her family was expecting to meet Jules next week when they came and she hadn’t talked to her in months. Rue was pacing in her room as she thought how she could make this believable. She didn’t want to tell them they broke up, because that seemed like the easy way out. She wanted to have fun with this situation as bad as that sounded, to show her family she still had Jules, even though it wouldn’t be Jules.

In times like these where her mind wasn’t creative, there was only one person to go to, for help on this situation. Gia, her little sister always helped her out in these situations. She had an answer for anything, some of Rue’s biggest problems Gia had helped solve. As she knocked on the door, she prayed that Gia would help her this time. That she would have a plan that would get her through this family event. As usual, Gia was drawing. It was something she was good at, just like their dad was. Rue was always a little jealous she wasn’t a good artist but at least Gia was. 

“Hey Rue, I’m guessing you’re in a dilemma about the whole family event and figuring out where to find Jules,” Gia said as she got up from her bed walking over to her sister. Rue swore Gia was psychic, it was times like these where she knew she had to be.  
All Rue could do was nod and then look her sister in the eyes. “ I need your help Gia, I don’t know how I am going to pull this off, what do you have in mind,” Rue asked looking at her while tilting her head. There was a silence for a few minutes as Gia gathered her thoughts before turning back to look at Rue.

“Okay, I got it. So, you have three options. The first is you just tell them you broke up with Jules, probably the easiest option if I’m being honest with you. The second is that you tell them Jules is out of town for the week and hope that it works and they don’t question you. “ Gia says smiling at Rue.  
Rue waited for Gia to say the third and final option but it never came so minutes went by. Silence. At this point, Rue needed to know what the third option was because it might be the best option. “ Gia, what’s the third option? or were you lying saying you had a third when you didn’t” Rue says while looking frustrated as she clenched her fists.

“ Sis, I have a third option, I just don’t think you will like it. Plus, it could harm the other person involved so I’m hesitant to share it. It a reach but if you really want to know…”  
There was silence was between them yet again and Rue hated it. She was done with silence she would scream if her sister didn’t talk in the next 5 seconds. Why was her sister teasing her like this?  
“ Tell me Gia or else I swear-“ 

“Fine but if you do this option and it ends badly, it’s on you. The third option is that you ask Lexi since she is the only friend you have lol, and see if she can pretend to be Jules. The family hasn’t met Lexi so it could work. I must warn you though, you will have to train her to know everything about Jules’s life because you know our relatives they will ask anything. “  
with that Gia went back to her bed and to finish this sketch she had been doing of this old family photo they took with their whole family. 

Rue knew that option one was the right way to go. It had no consequences and she could just tell them a fake ass story about their breakup. Option two seemed lame, and she knew she couldn’t pull off convincing her family that Jules was away. It was the middle of the fucking semester of school. So, it was between options one and three.  
“ So which are you going to do Rue?” Gia says as Rue begins to walk away from her room.  
As Rue turns back to smile at Gia she holds up three fingers before going to get ready to put her plan into motion.


	2. please say you'll help me.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rue goes over to ask Lexi if she will be apart of her "plan"

It had started to rain when Rue biked over to Lexi’s house. Luckily rue wore a jacket with a hood. She soon reached the Howard residence, it looked nice all lit up. Rue had spent much of her childhood here. The two of them would play dress up and pretend that they were detectives. They loved it when either one of their moms would put together a mystery and then they would have to solve it. Often the mystery led to a good snack after also.   
Shaking her head, Rue dropped her bike on the lawn and walked up to the door. She rang the doorbell, practicing what to say. She hoped that this all would work out. She knew that if Lexi agreed that she would owe her big time. As she reached to press the doorbell, the door opened. It was Cassie. She almost ran into Rue, but she stopped before she did.

“ Hey Rue, how are you doing, Lexi is upstairs if you were looking for her” was all she said as she raced down the stairs and to her car. 

Rue went into the house closing the door behind her. The Howard house always looked so elegant to Rue. It had that modern feel to it, that Rue loved and adored. She slowly walked up the stairs to Lexi’s bedroom. As she approached the room, she saw that the door was open already, probably Cassie forgot to close it. 

“Hey Lexi, whoa did you just draw that? “ Rue says while looking at her sketchbook which had a beautiful flower on it currently. 

“ Yeah I drew it, it isn’t that good but I was bored. I’ve been trying to work on improving my art these past few days. There is an art show coming up and Mr Johnson said I can put my artwork in IF I come up with something unique to put in it. So far I have NOTHING. So anyway, not to sound rude but why are you here?” Lexi says looking up into Rue’s eyes. The two looked into each other's eyes for a solid minute before both looking in different directions.

“ um, so I kinda need your help. I mean I bet you aren’t surprised since I feel I ask you for help a lot but um, I need, no would appreciate if you would be my girlfriend for the next week. More specifically be Jules” Rue said so fast as she felt herself getting anxious. She started to touch her two hands together in an attempt to calm down. She could feel herself slowly starting to sweat, the anxiety filling her as she waited for Lexi’s response.

“Sure I mean I guess, but I have one condition if I agree to this weird thing. Also, before I say my condition may I ask why I have to pretend to be Jules?” Lexi says as she scrunches her eyebrows in confusion. Though to Rue it just looked adorable. 

“ Yeah sorry, so my family is coming up from the east coast next week and my mom told them that they couldn’t wait to meet Jules. Since she told them I was with her and never told any of them that Jules left town. So since you’re a friend of mine, I figured I might ask. If you say yes, I’ll own you BIG time “ Rue finished.

“Wow, that is quite the predicament. Sure, I’ll help, even though I know little to nothing about Jules so I guess you will have to teach me all about her. Also, the condition if I do this, which I am planning to, is that you have to come to my art show at the end of the month.” Lexi said reaching her hand out to shake on the deal.

Rue wasn’t good at remembering special events. She usually forgot her own birthday for most years. But she had to remember this for Lexi. So, she nodded and reached out and shook her hand twice before releasing it from her grip.

“Cool, this will be quite the experiment. So, tell me about Jules’s childhood and where she grew up while I try to think of something to do for this art show” Lexi said as she smiled at Rue before lying down on her bed. Rue sat down against the side.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey so i am SO sorry for the wait on this chapter.  
>  also keep in mind the chapters will be short to medium length.  
> if i ever do a long one , enjoy it cause those will be rare.  
> anyway i hope ya'll are staying healthy and doing okay during this crazy time  
> till next time  
> -Liza


	3. Learning to be someone else

“ So Jules and I met at that insane party that McKay was hosting. I know you weren’t there but that shit was so dope” Rue said as she gave Lexi a small smile. 

The two of them had been lying in Lexi’s room for an hour and the two of them had just started going over their plan. For Lexi, it was what to say and for Rue, it was what information she wanted to share with Lexi about Jules and what she didn’t. 

Lexi had got down the first part of the plan. This was the two of them meeting and how they basically started hanging out at school and after school on some days. That Jules was the ONE person in Rue’s life that made her genuinely happy. Something that no one did before.   
In a sense, Lexi got a little sad about it but brushed it off fast. She was helping Rue and in return, she would go to her art show at the end of the month. That was all this was, they weren’t friends. At least she knew she wasn’t one to Rue.

“Okay, so you got all of that? I know I just rambled on for a while but um any questions?” Rue asked hesitantly as she looked at Lexi for a second. Rue could tell she was thinking about something else. Rue always noticed that when she wasn’t “there” when she would hum and shake her head up and down but without eye contact. But sure, enough soon she received a “Yeah I got the first part of the plan”.

Rue had laid out a set of rules. The first was that hugs and hand-holding were acceptable when around the Rue’s extended family and Lexi’s family. There would be no kissing unless Rue was feeling that her extended family wasn’t convinced that Lexi was Jules. Another rule was that if they slipped up on calling Lexi, Jules then they would tell the extended family that Jules’s middle name was Lexi. Also, that it was a nickname Rue sometimes called her. The final rule was simple. Lexi’s family couldn’t know about the plan. The Bennett’s could because they would blow Lexi’s cover in an instant but the Howards didn’t need to. All the Howards would know is that the two of them were “ dating”

Since they were currently at the Howard residence and needed to start the plan, they agreed that when the two of them came downstairs for dinner, they would hold hands and act all “soft” at dinner. But once dinner was over and Rue went home, it would be back to normal. When they weren’t together they didn’t need to pretend to be. They were just Rue and Lexi. Lexi and Rue. 

Two separate individuals.

As Lexi’s mom called them for dinner, Rue reached out for Lexi’s hand and she gladly took it. She smiled at Rue and in return Rue did a little giggle. 

Yeah, she would survive this….

or would she.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> woah what a short chapter.   
> but i told ya'll last time that i write short chapters.  
> but this is good so this way i can keep the story going longer!!!  
> anyway i love you all and i hope your doing well  
> i'll try to write more soon.   
> but with all this homework and school and me trying to be active during this time  
> its been hard to sit down and write but i hope it won't be as long a wait for the next chapter  
> anwyay till next time  
> -Liza


	4. dinner?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> dinner at the howards

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay i know this is extremely short.  
> i am sorry  
> quarantine is slowly taking it's toll on me.  
> anyway enjoy!

As Rue sat down at dinner, she smiled as she saw the feast in front of her.  
On the table was some salad, beef, salsa, shredded cheese, and some flour tortillas.  
“Ah taco Thursdays at the Howard household, I remember this”. Rue said as she turned to look at Lexi who seemed a little nervous. Just as Lexi was about to grab the spoon for the salsa to start on her burrito, Rue reached out and grabbed her wrist. “ hey how about you tell me what you want in your taco burrito and I’ll make it for you” Rue said as she released Lexi’s wrist.  
Lexi smiled, but only a little cause if Lexi smiled how big she wanted to then, her mom and Cassie would definitely be suspicious. When they were little and Rue would stay over, they would always have tacos/ burritos. This was their favorite meal, and Rue would always make Lexi hers since Rue back then loved to do anything to make Lexi smile.

So Lexi just nodded and told Rue what she wanted. Turns out that they both wanted everything in their burrito well almost, Rue didn’t want the beef in hers. They both enjoyed their dinner and every so often Lexi tilted her head and placed it on Rue’s shoulder and Rue doing the same thing to Lexi. It was as if it was a move of comfort, cause whenever the other got nervous about a question that was asked, that person would tilt their head on the others shoulder. turns out that it happened a lot that evening.

Dinner went over easily, neither Cassie or Lexi’s mom questioned them. The two of them together told Cassie and her mom that they were "dating". At first, Cassie laughed. She said, “ wait your being serious”. The two of them nodded as they grabbed the hands of each other under the table and lifted them up. They still had a way to go to work on being all cute and all with each other. They didn’t have much more time to practice though. There were only 3 days left until Rue’s extended family arrived and stayed with them for 2 days. 

Dinner was over and it was time for Rue to go home for the evening. The two of them had school tomorrow as it was Sunday. As Rue stood up and walked to the door, Lexi grabbed her hand. 

“ Wait Rue!” she says as she pulled Rue into a hug. Rue stiffens at first but slowly wraps her arms around Lexi. The hug soon ends with a quick “ goodbye, see you at school tomorrow”

Once Rue got back to her house, she felt weird. And no, she didn’t mean in a bad way. She just couldn’t remember the last time she hugged Lexi. It must have been years. She also wasn’t expecting to get a hug from her again, if she was being honest. 

What could have made Lexi want to hug her? I mean she knew that this whole relationship was an act and that they weren’t friends, right?  
They had made a deal that they didn’t need to show any affection towards each other when no one was watching. She would probably never know why Lexi hugged her that night but as she got ready for bed that evening she smiled.


	5. t-2 days

It was a normal day at school for Lexi. Last night when she had hugged Rue, she had gotten the feeling she did when she was little and hugged Rue. The feeling was happiness and feeling safe.   
Lexi was basically a solo person when it came to school. Sure she had classmates she would talk to. Some of them even checked up on her from time to time

But those weren’t friends. They didn’t hang out after school or at any other time. So Lexi was excited that she would be “ forced” to spend time with Rue for the next few days. Any time with Rue, Lexi valued. 

Lexi had the majority of her classes with Rue. They were getting ready for gym class or as Lexi put it “ the least important class of the day”.  
As Lexi changed into her clothes for gym class, she heard some of the girls talking about Rue. It wasn't like this didn't happen at least once a day but still, she wondered when they would ever get tired of the subject.

“ She never does anything” said one of them

“ She legit stands there in her gross hoodie she wears daily and people watches, I don’t know how our teacher is that unobservant to not notice or say something to her, Bennett shouldn’t get exceptions to not patriciate “

Lexi had gotten better at not yelling at people when they talked about Rue. It was something she learned that Rue didn’t like. She didn’t need people defending her, she could do that herself. 

She finished tying up her tennis shoes and made her way into the gym. She was lucky, today was a free gym day. That means that she could turn this time into a workout. They were doing volleyball but once a week the teacher let them have free gym. 

“Hey Howard,” someone said as they snuck up behind her.

She jumped and then turned around fast to see Rue standing there laughing.

“ Dude you look like you just saw a ghost, but hey what are you doing?” Rue asks as Lexi picked up two of the dumbbells.

“ Rue I’m using this time to do a workout, so if you would excuse me” Lexi says walking over to an area with more space and started on her arm workouts. But Rue still followed like a puppy.

“ See I could but you know me and this whole gym scene don’t go together. So I was figuring we could just talk I guess, review the plan maybe I don’t know.” Rue said trying to sound convincing like she actually wanted to talk to her.

Lexi had to take a minute to think about this offer. It isn’t that she didn’t want to tell Rue about her morning or how she was dreading history class, she just was worried she would zoom out and not listen to her at all. Although there would be no feelings involved or to be grown in this whole process, it didn’t mean that it wouldn’t hurt a little if Rue zoned out. It would always hurt Lexi’s heart a little.

Soon Rue was waving her hand in front of her face, to make sure she was still there.

“ Lexi, Alexandra Howard, are you in there?” she says moving her hand up and down in front of her face, before getting a response.

“ Um yeah, I’m here sorry, “ she said before finishing her weights and getting up to put them back.

Geez, Lexi Howard just loved to hold a conversation while walking. It was one of her things to just walk and talk. 

“So remember that you are coming to my house around 1 pm on Saturday remember, also remember to wear the outfit we discussed. It looks nice on you and finally don't fuck this up, Lexi. If you do, I can guarantee I won’t come to your art show.” Rue said as she watched Lexi do some crunches. 

“Listen Rue I got it. You went over the plan multiple times and also you made me rehearse it more times than I could count. I know all the responses to all the questions they could ask. anyway, so how was your morning? Is Leslie freaking out about cleaning the house and all?” Lexi said as she let out a little laugh. 

Lexi knew that all the time's Rue had family come into town, Rue’s house looked spotless. Well minus Rue’s room. Rue was never one to clean much. Rue admired her room to be a little messy and always has.

“ I mean I guess. Luckily this time they won’t be staying at our house for once. They finally agreed to stay at a hotel. It also is nice because my cousin Kaiya isn’t coming, which is a relief because she always annoyed me and hated me” Rue finishes as she lies down next to Lexi on the matt.

“ Rue you and Kaiya use to love hanging out. I remember because I would come over and you two would always be playing fairies or whatever we played” Lexi said giving the “ come on you know I’m right look”

“ Your right we did, but that was when we were kids. She was always nicer to me when you were there though. Whenever it was just the two of us, she wasn’t…. how should I put this nicely, the best person. She was the complete opposite. One time she even got out of something she did because she blamed it on me. I couldn’t hang out with any friends for a whole week! She is mischievous Lexi, trust me.” Rue says turning on her side to face Lexi.

Lexi than turned to face Rue also. She put her hand under her cheek so she could look at Rue while she talked.

“ Woah wait is that why you couldn’t come to my birthday party when I turned 7? My mom always told me that you and your family went away for the weekend.” Lexi said raising her voice a little.

“ Yep, you were lied to. I was in my room and house bored out of my mind. Gia annoying me every second to play with her. Do you know how exhausting it is when your sister bugs you all the time to “play” with you? Trust me that week was hell” Rue finishes.

The two of them had been side by side talking for at least 8 minutes. It was relaxing. Lexi had only then realized that she wasn’t doing anything productive and probably would get yelled at in 

3, 2 , 1.

“ Howard!, Bennett!, get up and do something, this isn’t a time for talking or lying around!” their gym teacher yelled at them. 

The moment was short but it was the best thing that had happened to Lexi all morning. 

As Rue and her got up from the matt, they looked up at the clock and saw it was almost time to go change for their next class.

“Well, that went by faster than usual. Maybe I’ll have to start talking to you more during free gym days Howard” Rue said as she playfully punched Lexi’s shoulder. 

“ Yeah we should, that would be nice,” Lexi says as she gives Rue a smile and walks back over to an open space to quickly do some burpees and jumping jacks.

Was Rue being serious or was this part of the plan also?

Well either way Lexi was happy. She hadn’t remembered a time where Rue and she weren’t mad at each other and had a genuine conversation. It was nice, refreshing, a feeling she didn’t want to ever go away again.

And that is when Lexi Howard knew that this plan was becoming increasingly harder.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so sorry for the long wait on updating again.  
> i've been so busy with school and latley unmotivated to write.  
> like i'll open this and try to write and then i just don't feel like it.  
> but tonight i finally did so yay.  
> anyway, i hope you all are doing well and staying healthy.  
> -liza


	6. hey i'm Jules..

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> lexi meets Rue's family for the first time..

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay so first off. i know i havent added to this story in MONTHS. i legit forgot my password to this account and kept forgetting to update this but also wasn't in the mood to update. i have this chapter and another pre written so hence why im finally posting one of them.  
> anyway idk when the next one will be up but enjoy this for now. also let me know if you want another chapter of the missed day.  
> i didnt know weather to keep adding to that or not. anyway till next time  
> -Liza

The next two days flew by. They were filled with laughs, tears and smiles. At this point, Rue felt like she had spent more time at Lexi’s house than at her own. The two of them trying to spend time bonding, doing what they use to do as kids. They would play board games they hated such as monopoly and the biggest decision was who would be the banker, think of mysteries they could solve and eat their favorite food together, which was chocolate chip cookies. Lexi made the best baked goods, but she always had.

The day before the event was here. The day Lexi would first meet Rue’s extended family. She would only see them for 15 minutes or less tonight but tomorrow she would be with them for a whole afternoon. Now you might be surprised, since Lexi was such a close friend of Rue’s that you would have thought they met, but Rue’s family rarely came over to the west coast. Lexi put on a nice dress that she had gotten a while back, that was black with flowers on it. it was one of her favorites, one that she felt most comfortable in. 

As she took a few deep breaths, she heard Cassie knock on their door.

“ You look beautiful Lexi, absolutely stunning and I know Rue will think so too” she said as she went over to give her a hug.

She knew this would go well, it was only 15 minutes and then she could come back and lay in her bed and watch a movie. 

As she got to Rue’s house and knocked, she could feel her anxiety slowly creeping up on her, but she shook her head and told her mind to shut up.

Gia opened the door and instantly embraced her into a hug. The two were like sisters themselves. The bond they had was insane. Though the hug was soon interrupted by Rue.

“ Lexi you look so nice” Rue said before giving her a smile and reaching out waiting for her hand to be in hers. The two walked into the living room/ kitchen area, where Lexi saw all of Rue’s extended family sitting. The room went quiet.

“Everyone I want you to meet Jules, my girlfriend” Rue said with a beaming smile, squeezing Lexi’s hand to show her that she was here and she wasn’t leaving.

Stares. That’s all Lexi could feel was stares, people looking her up and down. She hoped they liked her. She knew she wasn’t the prettiest girl

It was extremely awkward to say the least

Soon people came up to the two of them and started saying “congratulations” and “ Rue is lucky to have you”. It was nice. 

The rest of the evening went seemingly well. She just ate the dinner at Rue’s which was good. It was nice to be appreciated and now she seemed to have won Rue’s extended family over, well she hoped. Tomorrow was the big interview day. the day where they would question her to her wits end. The day where she hoped she didn’t slip up and say anything to ruin this plan. She didn’t want Rue to get upset at her again and cut her out. Yes, she knew she shouldn’t get feelings during this whole thing, but she had failed. She knew that deep down but she would always put a “I know this is all a experiment” face on for rue and everyone else.  
Though she wished she could tell Rue how she felt, even if it didn’t work out, it would at least give her peace of mind. But she knew she couldn’t, she just hoped these feelings would fade away. 

Disappear. Leave. Exit her body.

As she finished dinner and the family called it a night, Lexi started to collect her things.

“ Hey where are you going?” Rue said as she caught up to Lexi at the door.

Lexi didn’t know what to say. She was still trying to contain herself from crying and overthinking these whole feelings for her best friend shit. But she had to leave. Now and then tomorrow this whole thing would be over. 

“ i’m going home Rue, where else would I be going?” Lexi said a little harsher then she meant to.

“well I thought you could stay here tonight, I was talking to Gia and we were thinking of a movie night plus we could really use some of your freshly baked brownies or chocolate chip cookies. “

As much as Lexi wanted to stay, she couldn’t. she knew if she did, something could go wrong. Something as in Lexi might try to kiss her best friend and mess everything up the day before the plan started.

“I really can’t Rue, I have to get home and finish some homework actually. I hope though you and Gia can have a fun movie night together and I’ll see you tomorrow” Lexi said with no emotion as she opened and closed the door behind her. 

Why the fuck did she agree to this plan. She should have said no. She should of told Rue she was crazy. She should have never told rue about her art show. She should have never been involved in Rue’s plans. Cause in the end she always lost.

Rue’s POV

As Lexi closed the door behind her, Rue felt her heart sink. She was really hoping she would stay over and the two of them could play games and watch movies. Honestly the truth was, there was no planned movie night with Gia. She just wanted Lexi to stay the night. She had gotten so use to her being with her at night, that she didn’t want to break the routine. That night she felt so lonely in bed. Rue always liked to sprawl in her bed, and was happy she had so much room to herself. Well she used to.

Lexi had changed that and now Rue was worried she would lose it. The plan was tomorrow and she knew Lexi was well prepared. She didn’t have anything to worry about, she had trained her well. Wait no she didn’t like that word trained. Lexi just had picked up on everything so fast. She was a good learner. 

As Rue lay in bed not tired at all, she thought about Lexi. She hoped she wasn’t nervous for tomorrow. She hoped she was sleeping unlike her.


	7. Breathe

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the family meal<3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> here is the next chapter!  
> sorry for the semi short delay between the last one and this one.  
> i've been so busy with work and school.  
> enjoy<3

Rue woke up feeling more tired than she had been in a while. She might of slept 4 hours maximum before worrying about if today would go well. She would be in a lot of trouble if anything went wrong. But nothing could they were well prepared. The two of them got this, I mean her mom seemed happy when she said “Good morning Rue” in a cheery voice. At least someone had some confidence.

The morning went by relatively fast. Her and Gia had tidied up the house and started decorating for the party. Lexi would be arriving soon and it made Rue smile when she saw the time. Any minute Lexi would be arriving and she agreed to help with decorations and all. This was good since Rue had zero talent in decorating. She needed it to look nice and, they had to set up the table and chairs in their backyard.  
Soon there was a knock at the door and it was Lexi. As Rue opened the door she saw Lexi and smiled. She was dressed in a beautiful blue dress. It wasn’t too fancy but not too casual either. It was perfect, she looked so beautiful. 

“You look so beautiful Lex” she says as she pulls Lexi into the biggest hug.

“You look nice too Rue” Lexi said as she saw Rue in a somewhat dressy top and some nice pants. 

They had chosen to have a Mexican themed lunch. Rue’s mom Leslie had always loved Mexican food and since that is what the guests wanted as well, they decided to cater to get some.

It is impossible for anyone in the Bennet family to not like Mexican food. It was the household favorite in the Bennett house and had been since well forever.

As the two of them walked out into their backyard, they began to decorate. They had cute bandanas and many other colorful decorations. In total there would be 16 of them. Luckily they had decided on make your own taco's/ burritos so it was self serve. Though Rue already knew what lexi wanted and vice versa.

Somewhere along the way of finishing decorating rue decided to tickle Lexi. She didn’t know why but she wanted to in the moment so she did. Lexi was very ticklish so in an instant, there were laughs and Lexi attempting to have Rue stop.

“ Rue come on we have to finish decorating, we are almost done. We just have to put the last napkin down and we are…. Done!”

Lexi raising her hand for a high five and rue gave her one but instead of just a high five she grabbed lexi’s hand after and squeezed it. 

“ It looks so beautiful Lexi, my mom will defiantly know I didn’t do it on my own”

Soon enough the family started arriving, they were all really dressed up, some even wearing the hats you would wear to the racetrack. 

Rue just needed to breathe. She had been nervous for today since she made the stupid idea to bring Lexi into this. Though her shaking as she was still holding lexi’s hand didn’t help her at all, so she quickly let go. 

Lexi gave her a look as If to ask if she was okay but all rue does is nod fast She didn’t need lexi to play the role of the concerned girlfriend right now. 

“ Rue ,Jules, you ladies look beautiful” said one of Rue’s relatives as she reached to hug them both.

Lexi smiled as she looked down at her shoes. They were her favorite ones, they were purple wedges that made her somewhat closer to Rue’s height. She loved not having such a big height gap.  
Soon after chatting for a little they sat outside in Rue’s backyard. The yard was lit as it was growing closer to night time. It felt magical even if the backyard itself was nothing special. 

Looking over at Gia who taped her glass as everyone sat down. The main course of the evening was some pasta. People had the choice of if they wanted pesto, cheese, butter or red sauce on theirs. The side dishes were some fruit such as watermelon and strawberries. It was a beautiful display. It was buffet style so a few people went up at a time.

Lexi and Rue went up together of course, putting their favorites on their plate. Rue chose to have her pasta with Butter only while Lexi choice Pesto for hers. They both got watermelon as their fruit, since it was their favorite fruit. As they took their seats back at the table, she felt odd. She felt like something was going to happen, and not good. She didn’t know what it would be but she shook the feeling off.  
“ To Rue and Jules, who are perfect for each other and we wish nothing but happiness for them in the future” said Rue’s Aunt Zoey. The words flowed so easily and with the biggest smile, that Lexi deep down wished they were true. Rue did make her extremely happy and this whole experiment had been nice but it was all pretend at the end of each day. 

Don’t take those words to heart, Lexi kept telling herself, so she wouldn’t tear up. Instead she just smiled at Rue and then her aunt saying thank you.

The meal then continued and everyone dug into their food. There were many conversations going on since it was a long table and rue and Lexi were on a side of it. Lexi didn’t mind many of the questions but so many were being fired at her. Many were basic, like how they met, favorite foods, favorite date they have been on etc. It was a little hard to keep up with it all. though one of them made me think before she answered.

“ How is your relationship with your dad ?”

Fathers. That is a topic Lexi didn’t like to touch on. Although she was supposed to act all happy and say her dad was her rock, she felt unable to. She couldn’t produce a sentence. She knew what she had to say. The words she had practiced with Rue, many times before. The thing was she didn’t think in this moment she could produce them without sounding sad and tears pricking her eyes.

“Um, would you excuse me a minute please” Lexi said before excusing herself from the table.

As she got up the whole family looked at her. She wanted to run she wanted to go home and break down. She felt so stupid for letting her emotions get the best of her. But here she was debating whether to sit down in their kitchen or to go home. She didn’t know which seemed less cowardly. She took a few deep breathes in and out. She knew she got this, it was okay she wasn’t alone. She heard footsteps walking her way and it was who she didn’t want to see. Rue.

“ You need to be out with your family, I’ll be back in a minute I just need to breathe.” She said as she raised her head from her hands. 

“ Are you sure you’re okay Lex?, that questions really seemed to have you tense up. You know you can always say pass if you need to. “Rue said sitting down next to her and taking her hand in hers, looking up into her eyes. The beautiful eyes that made Rue feel at peace, though now they were filling up with tears. 

“Yeah, I’m good, I promise I don’t know why I tensed up. I guess my anxiety got the best of me. Thanks for letting me take a quick break I truly appreciate it” she said squeezing her hand while considering her beautiful brown eyes.

“ Anytime Lex, also you are doing great. Everything is going fine. We all need breaks to breathe and take a break from a stressful situation” Rue said. 

As they both stand up hand in hand, and walk back into the back yard they hear something that they were not expecting to hear. 

“Who are you” says Rue’s grandma in a somewhat harsh tone as she stands up from her chair.

The two look over and it’s their worst nightmare. The person who didn’t know about this party. The person who went away and wasn’t supposed to be back. Yet there she was standing at Rue’s gate wanting to get in. Rue could feel Lexi shaking against her as she kept squeezing her hand to comfort her as if to say it’s okay

“I’m Jules”


	8. i don't belong here.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> just read and react lol

Gasps could be heard all throughout the table. Wherever Lexi looked, people’s mouths were open and looking between her and Jules. She didn’t know what to do, what to say. She was still holding Rue’s hand but let go as it just didn’t feel right.

“ So wait who is the real Jules?” Rue’s aunt asked. The tension in the room went from zero to 1000 real fast and Rue hated it.

“ Uh me, I would know my own name, that is-“ Jules almost finished but got cut off.

The whole table was waiting in anticipation to see who the girl who they had thought was Jules was. 

Lexi felt sick as she turned and retreated into the house and headed towards the door, she couldn’t be here. The plan was going so well. Too well, for it to finish without a flaw. This the worst possibility that could ever happen. She grabbed her purse and was out the door, no one tried to stopped. Her

As Lexi rushed out the door, she felt a hole in her heart. Although she wouldn’t ever admit it, as she had gotten too attached. The fake dating was over, it wasn’t ever real. The memories weren’t either, even though Lexi wanted to believe they were. She wanted to so fucking bad.

Cassie was there to pick her up and they headed home, neither saying a word. Lexi felt on the verge of tears. She hadn’t felt this sad since her dad had been in the hospital. It was such a stupid reason to be sad also. She just hoped the real Jules and Rue were having a blast at the remainder of the party.

Soon they made it home and Lexi ran to her room and flopped on the bed. Lexi didn;t know what to feel. to feel sad or angry or depressed.

“ listen I know I can’t make the pain go away sis, but I think I know someone who might be able to help” Cassie said with a smirk on her face.

“ If this is you telling me mom has all the answers please stop” Lexi said.

Though it wasn’t until Cassie moved that she saw a girl in their doorway.

She had short black hair, about shoulder length. She also had brown eyes and was a short 5 foot person. 

“ Lexi!!” she yelled as she ran over to embrace her in a hug.

Lexi instantly hugged her back finally releasing the tears she had been holding in. 

“ It’s so nice to see you Tess, I’ve missed you” Lexi said as she held her and nestled her face into her hair. It smelt like Texas, but it smelled good. Lexi’s friend she had made at camp was here, the one she didn’t think she would see again ever. Her hair smelled like home, like she was going to be okay. And for the first time since this whole dating fiasco starting she believed it.

Meanwhile at the family party. Rue was still frozen and had realized that the real Jules had taken her hand in hers and she was not holding Lexi’s.

Rue finally broke out of her trance and instantly let go of Jules’s hand. 

“ Rue there you are, you zoned out for a bit. Your family is so nice but let’s go sit back down for desert” Jules said as she attempted to pull Rue over to the table.

Rue just shook her head and looked confused and anxious. She shouldn’t feel anxious, she is with her family. She is with Jules. The one who she thought was the best fucking person on the planet… what was going on with her.

She felt the same way as she did when she thought Jules was mad at her. The anxiety was creeping up on her and she felt like she had to just be alone. Although last time she went right to the source, she knew she couldn’t this time. She needed to calm down on her own or attempt to before running and playing the victim.

“ Um im going to go in for the night, I’m tired , but I hope you all have a wonderful time out here. Goodnight” Rue said before turning in for the night. She went to her room and went to her bed and flopped. She knew she had fucked up and that for once she had no excuse. She didn’t know that Jules would show up at the party. She did know that it made her mad.

Something that she had never felt towards the blonde before. 

She knew that Lexi deserved better than her and she always had. She knew that it would take time for her to forgive her or even want to talk to her. The moments that the two had shared over the past few weeks were her favorite. She couldn’t remember a time where she hadn’t needed drugs to have a good time. Well minus Jules, but that ended badly. She knew Lexi would stick by her in the long run.

Rue decided to write Lexi a note. As cliché as it sounded, she knew she could write her feelings better than say them to Lexi’s face. She wrote down everything that she had enjoyed with lexi over these past few weeks. Though she also included what she loved about her in general. She loved how Lexi could just be entertained by cat videos and how she loved the little things. She thought Lexi was the most caring person in the world and that everyone loved her. She wrote down everything she wanted to say to Lexi and it took Rue a solid hour and a half to write it all down. By the end her hand cramped but it was worth it

She was worth it. She would give it to her tomorrow, first thing. She would apologize and hopefully they could be friends again and not go through an awkward phase. The two would be friends again if Rue had anything to say about it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i know this isn't my best work at all.  
> this chapter is sloppy and somewhat rushed but i had to update as i probably wont in the next two weeks or even longer.  
> so enjoy and can't wait to update again in the future weeks.  
> follow my socials mayhaps?
> 
> tumblr: lizaaaaaa
> 
> instagram: margaritasroses

**Author's Note:**

> hello!  
> i haven't written in a while because os school and just didn't feel motivated.  
> but here is a new story i started a few weeks ago and  
> ll try to update a lot this week since i will be in most of the week cause of this stupid covid 19 stuff  
> anyway stay safe loves and  
> till next time  
> -liza


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